UNHCR seeks emergency relief for Somali refugees

Paris- France (PANA) - – The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Thursday put out an emergency appeal for US$35 million to enable it meet the needs, within the next six months, of Somali refugees flooding into northeastern Kenya.
In a statement issued in Paris, the UNHCR emphasised the need to get emergency funding because the growing influx of Somali refugees was depleting the capacities of humanitarian agencies to render adequate assistance to Somali refugees in Kenya.
Moreover, the UNHCR expressed fears that overcrowding could spark an outbreak of diseases in the refugee camps.
More than 34,000 Somali refugees fleeing escalation in the civil war in their country have arrived in Kenya since the beginning of this year.